Stan-ley w



S. W. FINCH.

LUBRICATING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION man ria. 4, |921,

Patented July 5, 1921.

Nmuren STATES yPA'IENT OFFICE.

Lunnrcarmo SYSTEM.

' Speoicatlon of Letters Patent. Patented July 5, 1921.

application mea February 4, 1921. smal m. 442,433.

Tooll whommay concern:

yBe it known that I, STANLEY W. FINCK, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Washington, District of Columbia, have 1nvented certain new and useful Improvements in Lubricati GSystems, of which the following is a spec` cation.l

This invention pertains to lubricating systems and relates more particularly to means for indicating the level of the oil in the reservor of a splash system employed in conjunction with an internal combustion engine. The specific application of the invention, hereinafter described, is shown in connection with a Ford car and does away with :the many inconveniences and uncertainties which are inherently resent in such machines. Usually theV ord car is provided with two pet cocks arranged at different levels in the rear of Ithe magneto and fly wheel housing, and, as will be `readily appreciated by those who drive a Ford par, said pet cocks are somewhat inaccessible, being under the machine, and, at best, afford but an inaccurate means of testin the oil level in the housing which forms e reservoir for the lubricatin oil.

The present inventlon has for its object the provision o! means for visually indicating the oil `level in the housing, said means being attachable to the car without alteration of the samev other than the removal of the lowermost pet cock and the boring of -a hole through the floor adjacent the seat.

The construction is illustrated in the annexed drawings, wherein,-

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of so muchof an automobile, with'my indicator applied thereto, as is necessary to an under- 'standingerf` my invention Fig. 2 a'lvertical sectional view of the indicator, on a somewhatlarger scale;

Fig. 3 a perspective v iew'of the Heat and the:1 upper portion of the indicator proper; an

r pet cock which may be left in situ, is lcated by 7, while the opening into which the usual lower pet cock is screwed is denoted by 8, Fig. 2. Screwed into said openmg 1s a pipe 9 connected by a union 9 to a second pipe or section 9", the latter terminating in a fitting 10, shown as a T, and havlng a pet cock 11 screwed into the horizontally disposed openin opposite the connection of the pipe 9". crewed into the upper outlet .of the fitting is a nipple 12 which in turn 1s surmounted by a ioat chamber, shown as composed of a lower reducing fitting 13, a similar upper fitting 14, and an mtermediate section of pipe 15 of relatively large diameter. Threaded into the upper end of fitting 14 is a pipe 16, the upper end whereof is externally threaded for a considerable length, said pipe passing upwardly through an opening formed in the fixed section 3 of the floor board immediately forward of the upright wall 2L of the seat support. Suitable washers 17 and lock nuts 18 are placed upon the pipe 16 and serve to hold the ipe rigidly in place with reference to the oor element 3. By forming a long thread upon the pipe 16, the pipe and its attached parts may be brought to the proper position so that the float chamber will bear its pro er relation to the oil reservoir 6. Screws into the upper end of the pipe 16 is an internally threaded bushing 19 and into which bushing there is screwed a pipe 20 which is slotted lengthwise as at 20l and provided with a cap 21 at its upper end. The pipes 16 and 20 form in effect a housing for the rod, the upper portion whereof is open at one side through which the rod is exposed.

As will be seen upom reference to Fig. 1 pipe 20 stands close tothe vertical wall 2a and is out of the way though readily visible at all times, and particularly so as one gets in and out of the car. The movable indicator: comprises a. ioat 22, preferabl formed of cork, and a wire or rod 23, t e upper end whereof is bent outwardly, extending through the slot in pipe 20 and curved around the same, forming a loop 24 which is spaced away from the pipe and free to move with reference thereto. To ad'ustably and securely fasten the wire or ro to the float I preferably form a vertically disposed axial opening 25 therein, Fig. 2, said opening being readily produced by a burning operation, and into such opening is screwed the lower end of the rod 23. As illustrated,

said end is twisted linto s iral formas at 26,

the convolutions whereo are of a diameter slightly greater than the diameter .of the opening 25, so as to insure a binding contact between the float and the convolutions. I p

It is, 'of course, not essential that the loop 24 extend entirely around pipe 20,415 it merely performs the function of an index finger and enables one to readily read `the same in lconjunction with marks produced upon the pipe v2O, such,-for instance, as `a series of numerals to indicate the `o'il Alevel in the reservoir 6; or notations as L, N `and H, standing for low, normal and high, may be employed. A v

From lthe foregoing it will be-Seen that I have produced a simple and efficient indicating device and one which maybe `readily appliedto existing machines without altera- 'tion of any of its parts other than merely -as its housing 5 and reservoir 6, no strain is placed upon `the pipes and 4fittings. The float will function at all times, rising or falling as the oil :level varies. The pipe 2O land the cap 21- being of a diameter smaller than the .pipe `or lsection 16 permits the upper nut 18 to be passed vover the'cap 2l andY the pipe 20 so that the structure may be readily secured in position. In other words, the parts vbeingassembled it is only necessary `to pass the pipe20 with its cap -21 andthe pipe 16 upwardlyy through the opening in the fixed 'floor element V3 and then place the upper washer and nut in `position and screw the nut tightly to place. The union 9a is then coupled and the placement of the structure is complete.

l. In combination with an oil vreservoir of an internal combustion engine; a float chamber in communication with the low'er portion thereof; afloat in said chamber; :onindicating rod extending upwardly therefrom;

a houslng fer the rod connected with the 'upper end of sa'd float clanber, the upper portion of said housing being open along one side -to expose the upper portion of the pipe; av pipe `eidseiiidin'g from the 'upper end -of said chamber; means carried byisaid pipe for securing it to a fixed element; a slotted `member'secuvnedvto said last named'pipel; a

float in the float chamber; and a rod,-the lower 'end whereof is'secured Vto the Heat, said rod extending upwardly from the float through the? and the slotted member and having its upper'end Ybent 4"laterally Aand extending `(mtwardly through the slot.

3. In :combination with a float formed of cork and having a lcentrally kdisposed opening formed-therein; an indicatorrod, thevvv lower end whereof is spirally twisted and adapted to make binding lcontact with the wall ofthe opening inthe float, while the upper lend of 'the rod is fashioned into `a loop lying in a plane Tat `right vsingles to the axis yof the rod.

4.'I?n combination with la fioat; am indieating rod connected to the yfloat at `one end .and having its `other end fashioned -into va loop lying in a yplane vat right angles to the V-axi'sof the rod.

5. In combination with-an oil reservoir of tending from the lower portion thereof; a

float 'chamber in' communication 'with jsaidV pepe; a iipe extending from the upper end of said c amber; means carried by sa-id pipe for 'securing it to a. lfixed element; -a slotted -pipe Ysecured to said last 'named pipe; a float in the float chamber; and a rod, the lower end whereof is secured to the Hoet, said "rod extending upwardly from the float "through the last mentioned pipes and havingits :up- `per 'end bent laterally and 'extending outwerdly throu h the slot in the slotted pipe and fashione into a curve corresponding Y1n formV to the. surface of such pipe.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to tlsspecicati0n. A

STANLEY W. FINCH.y v, 

